It’s been a long year for Evan Stephens Hall and Pinegrove, returning into the spotlight after coming out publicly about accusations made against him and took some time away from the spotlight. It was a confusing time indeed as it seemed Pinegrove were on the brink of some pretty big breakout success that would’ve tied into the release of their new album Skylight.

A year later, Pinegrove slowly returned to the limelight, announcing the delayed release of the new album and some select tour dates, including two sold out nights at Music Hall of Williamsburg, where we caught them just last year (along with Newport Folk Festival).

Admittedly, it took me a bit of time to get into the band, whose sound definitely clicked a few different boxes becoming something of its own being, but it wasn’t until I finally caught them live at Newport where it truly clicked for me. So getting to see them return to New York to an eager audience at MHOW was a proper way to catch a full show for them for the first time, as in many ways it was like hitting the restart button for everyone involved.

There was no opener, this was strictly a night with Pinegrove. They began the show with “Rings” and “Portal,” off the new album and when they continued to play new songs in the order that they appear on the record, we began to realize that they were indeed playing all of Skylight. As if that wasn’t cool enough, they followed it up by then playing all of their breakthrough album Cardinal right after. This was a slightly different incarnation of the band, with Nandi Rose Plunkett and Adan Carlo (both also of Half Waif) no longer a part of the band’s touring rotation, but fans were greeted with a guest appearance from Plunkett during the 4-song encore.

Hall took some time to talk about what a long year it was and how it was most importantly one of “reflection and growth” and seemed clear to keep the conversation going but also to keep looking ahead to the future.

There are some shows where the crowd is passionate, and then there are shows like this one where the crowd somehow finds a way to go even further than that, literally belting every single lyric with Hall. It was abundantly clear that this is a band that means a lot to so many people, and to get to experience this with such a great crowd was something I won’t forget anytime soon.

Find a full gallery of photos from their performance below, along with the setlist.